Names of numbers in English
From Free net encyclopedia
Here are examples of how to name numbers in English.
Contents |
Cardinal numbers
| 0 | zero | ||||
| 1 | one | 11 | eleven | 10 | ten |
| 2 | two | 12 | twelve | 20 | twenty |
| 3 | three | 13 | thirteen | 30 | thirty |
| 4 | four | 14 | fourteen | 40 | forty (no "u") |
| 5 | five | 15 | fifteen | 50 | fifty (note "f", not "v") |
| 6 | six | 16 | sixteen | 60 | sixty |
| 7 | seven | 17 | seventeen | 70 | seventy |
| 8 | eight | 18 | eighteen (only one "t") | 80 | eighty (only one "t") |
| 9 | nine | 19 | nineteen | 90 | ninety |
If a number is in the range 21 to 99, and the second digit is not zero, one should write the number as two words separated by a hyphen.
| 21 | twenty-one |
| 25 | twenty-five |
| 32 | thirty-two |
| 58 | fifty-eight |
| 64 | sixty-four |
| 79 | seventy-nine |
| 83 | eighty-three |
| 99 | ninety-nine |
In English, the hundreds are perfectly regular, except that the word hundred remains in its singular form regardless of the number preceding it (obviously, one may on the other hand say "hundreds of people flew in", or the like)
| 100 | one hundred |
| 200 | two hundred |
| … | … |
| 900 | nine hundred |
So are the thousands, with the number of thousands followed by the word "thousand"
| 1,000 | one thousand |
| 2,000 | two thousand |
| … | … |
| 10,000 | ten thousand |
| 11,000 | eleven thousand |
| … | … |
| 20,000 | twenty thousand |
| 21,000 | twenty-one thousand |
| 30,000 | thirty thousand |
| 85,000 | eighty-five thousand |
| 100,000 | one hundred thousand |
| 999,000 | nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand (British English) nine hundred ninety-nine thousand (American English) |
| 1,000,000 | one million |
In informal English, exact numbers larger than one million are seldom named, except perhaps for dramatic effect.
There is more than one way of forming intermediate numbers. One way is for when you are counting something. Another way is for when you are using numbers as labels. The second column method is used much more often in American English than British English. The third column is used in British English, but rarely in American English (although the use of the second and third columns is not necessarily directly interchangeable between the two regional variants). In other words, the British dialect can seemingly adopt the American way of counting, but it is specific to the situation (in this example, bus numbers).
| Common British vernacular | Common American vernacular | Common British vernacular | |
| "How many marbles do you have?" | "What is your house number?" | "Which bus goes to the high street?" | |
| 101 | "A hundred and one." | "One-oh-one." Here, "oh" is used for the digit zero. | "One-oh-one." |
| 109 | "A hundred and nine." | "One-oh-nine." | "One-oh-nine." |
| 110 | "A hundred and ten." | "One-ten." | "One-one-oh." |
| 117 | "A hundred and seventeen." | "One-seventeen." | "One-one-seven." |
| 120 | "A hundred and twenty." | "One-twenty." | "One-two-oh." |
| 152 | "A hundred and fifty-two." | "One-fifty-two." | "One-five-two." |
| 208 | "Two hundred and eight." | "Two-oh-eight." | "Two-oh-eight." |
| 334 | "Three hundred and thirty-four." | "Three-thirty-four." | "Three-three-four." |
Note: When writing a cheque (or check), the number 100 is always written "one hundred". It is never "a hundred".
Note that in American English, it is non-standard to use the word and before tens and ones. It is instead used as a verbal delimiter when dealing with compound numbers. Thus, instead of "three hundred and seventy-three", Americans usually say (and write) "three hundred seventy-three". For details, see American and British English differences.
For numbers above a million, there are two different systems for naming numbers in English:
- the long scale (decreasingly used in British English) designates a system of numeric names in which a thousand million is called a milliard (but the latter usage is now rare), and billion is used for a million million.
- the short scale (always used in American English and increasingly in British English) designates a system of numeric names in which a thousand million is called a billion, and the word milliard is not used
| Number notation | Power notation | Short scale | Long scale |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,000,000 | 106 | one million | one million |
| 1,000,000,000 | 109 | one billion a thousand million | one milliard a thousand million |
| 1,000,000,000,000 | 1012 | one trillion a thousand billion | one billion a million million |
| 1,000,000,000,000,000 | 1015 | one quadrillion a thousand trillion | one billiard a thousand billion |
| 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 | 1018 | one quintillion a thousand quadrillion | one trillion a million billion |
Although British English has traditionally followed the long-scale numbering system, the short-scale usage has become increasingly common in recent years. For example, the UK Government and BBC websites use the newer short-scale values exclusively.
Here are some approximate composite large numbers in American English:
| Quantity | Written | Pronounced |
|---|---|---|
| 1,200,000 | 1.2 million | one point two million |
| 3,000,000 | 3 million | three million |
| 250,000,000 | 250 million | two hundred fifty million |
| 6,400,000,000 | 6.4 billion | six point four billion |
Often, large numbers are written with (preferably non-breaking) half-spaces or thin spaces separating the thousands (and, sometimes, with normal spaces or apostrophes) instead of commas—to ensure that confusion is not caused in countries where a decimal comma is used. Thus, a million is often written 1 000 000.
In some areas, a point (. or ·) may also be used as a thousands' separator, but then, the decimal separator must be a comma.
Specialised numbers
A few numbers have special names (in addition to their regular names):
- 0: has several other names, depending on context:
- naught / nought: mostly British usage
- oh: used when spelling numbers (like telephone, bank account, bus line)
- nil: in general sport scores (chiefly British, although American use in sports scores is common)
- love: in tennis; origin disputed
- zilch, nada, null, zip: used when stressing nothingness; this is true especially in combination with one another: "You know nothing—zero, zip, nada, zilch!"
- nix: also used as a verb
- 12: a dozen (first power of the duodecimal base), used mostly in commerce
- 13: a baker's dozen
- 20: a score (first power of the vigesimal base), nowadays archaic; famously used in the opening of the Gettysburg Address: "Four score and seven years ago..."
- 120: a great hundred (twelve tens; as opposed to the small hundred, i.e. 100 or ten tens), also called small gross (ten dozens), both archaic; also sometimes referred to as duodecimal hundred
- 144: a gross (a dozen dozens, second power of the duodecimal base), used mostly in commerce
- 1728: a great gross (a dozen gross, third power of the duodecimal base), used mostly in commerce
- 10,000: a myriad (a hundred hundred), commonly used in the sense of an indefinite very high number
- 100,000: a lakh (a hundred thousand), loanword used mainly in Indian English
- 10,000,000: a crore (a hundred lakh), loanword used mainly in Indian English
- 10100: googol (1 followed by 100 zeros), used in mathematics; not to be confused with the name of the search engine Google (which is actually a pun on googol)
- 10googol: googolplex (1 followed by a googol of zeros)
- 10googolplex: googolduplex (1 followed by a googolplex of zeros)
Combinations of numbers in most sports scores are read as in the following examples:
- 1–0 British English: one nil; American English: one-nothing, or one-zero
- 0–0 British English: nil-nil, or nil all; American English: zero-zero, or nothing-nothing
- 2–2 two-two (or two to two, or two all)
Tennis scores (and related games') are a law unto themselves.
Ordinal numbers
Here are some ordinal numbers.
| 0th | zeroth (see below) | ||||
| 1st | first | 11th | eleventh | 10th | tenth |
| 2nd | second | 12th | twelfth (note "f", not "v") | 20th | twentieth |
| 3rd | third | 13th | thirteenth | 30th | thirtieth |
| 4th | fourth | 14th | fourteenth | 40th | fortieth |
| 5th | fifth | 15th | fifteenth | 50th | fiftieth |
| 6th | sixth | 16th | sixteenth | 60th | sixtieth |
| 7th | seventh | 17th | seventeenth | 70th | seventieth |
| 8th | eighth (only one "t") | 18th | eighteenth | 80th | eightieth |
| 9th | ninth (no "e") | 19th | nineteenth | 90th | ninetieth |
Zeroth only has a meaning when counts start with zero, which happens in a mathematical or computer science context.
Ordinal numbers such as 21st, 33rd, etc, are formed by combining a cardinal ten with an ordinal unit.
| 21st | twenty-first |
| 25th | twenty-fifth |
| 32nd | thirty-second |
| 58th | fifty-eighth |
| 64th | sixty-fourth |
| 79th | seventy-ninth |
| 83rd | eighty-third |
| 99th | ninety-ninth |
Higher ordinals are not usually written in words. They are written using digits and letters as described below. Here are some rules that should be borne in mind.
- The suffixes -th, -st, -nd and -rd are usually written raised above the number itself (as superscript).
- If the tens digit of a number is 1, then write "th" after the number. For example: 13th, 19th, 112th, 9311th.
- If the tens digit is not equal to 1, then use the following table:
| If the unit's digit is: | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| write this after the number | th | st | nd | rd | th | th | th | th | th | th |
- For example: 2nd, 7th, 20th, 23rd, 52nd, 135th, 301st.
These ordinal abbreviations are actually hybrid contractions of a numeral and a word. 1st is "1" + "st" from "first". Similarly, we use "nd" for "second" and "rd" for "third". In some older publications, the ordinal abbreviation for "second" and "third" is simply, "d"
- For example: 42d, 33d, 23d
Any ordinal name that doesn't end in "first", "second", or "third", ends in "th".
Dates
Years before 2000 are read as follows:
| 1066 | ten sixty-six |
| 1492 | fourteen ninety-two |
| 1500 | fifteen hundred |
| 1502 | fifteen oh two (note the "oh" for zero) or fifteen hundred and two |
| 1776 | seventeen seventy-six |
| 1990 | nineteen ninety |
The year 2000 is read "two thousand".
Years after 2000 have no set system as of yet for expressing them; however, the second form of zeroth-decade year pronunciation is more common (that is, 2003 to be said as "two thousand (and) three"), and post-2010 dates are often said as normal (2010 would be "twenty ten").
Note that years are exceedingly rarely read as ordinal numbers, as "[...] in the one thousand one hundred and ninety-seventh year of our Lord" (that is, 1197), and this is considered archaic.
- In British, European and International (covering most of the world) English, the day usually comes before the month and the ordinal suffix is always vocalised and often appended: "the 1st of October 1984". However, other usages are not exceptional; "October the First is too Late" is the name of a novel by the English astronomer Fred Hoyle. In writing, the and especially of, while vocalised, are generally left out from the written date, particularly when the date stands alone, such as when writing cheques: 1st October 1984. The full form was common in older English, as can be seen in old English literature. The three main written forms are therefore:
- The 25th of January 2005 (old English extended form rarely used now in written form, but still fully used for all three forms in spoken English)
- 25th January 2005 (omitting "the" and "of")
- 25 January 2005 (omitting the ordinal suffix)
- In North American English, the day usually comes after the month and the ordinal suffix is rarely written, but optionally vocalized: "September 4, 1990" (read "September four(th), nineteen ninety"). The British form is still used for certain dates such as the Fourth of July.
Compare:
- Today is (the) 14th (of) March 2004. (British and international form, read "Today is the fourteenth of March, two thousand and four").
- We signed the documents on June 10, 1969. (North American form, read "...on June ten(th), nineteen sixty-nine").
The comma before the year is optional. It is usually used in American English (September 4, 2004) but seldom used in British and International English (4 September 2004). In abbreviations of month names, such as "Aug" for August, the period or full stop is often left out.
For an explanation of British, American and International usage for dates written in numbers, such as 14/03/2004 or 3/14/2004 or 2004-03-14, see calendar date.
Fractions and decimals
Here are some common fractions:
| 1/16 | one-sixteenth |
| 1/10 or 0.1 | one-tenth |
| 1/8 | one-eighth |
| 2/10 or 0.2 | two-tenths |
| 1/4 | one-quarter or one-fourth |
| 3/10 or 0.3 | three-tenths |
| 1/3 | one-third |
| 3/8 | three-eighths |
| 4/10 or 0.4 | four-tenths |
| 1/2 | one half |
| 6/10 or 0.6 | six-tenths |
| 5/8 | five-eighths |
| 2/3 | two-thirds |
| 7/10 or 0.7 | seven-tenths |
| 3/4 | three-quarters or three-fourths |
| 8/10 or 0.8 | eight-tenths |
| 7/8 | seven-eighths |
| 9/10 or 0.9 | nine-tenths |
| 15/16 | fifteen-sixteenths |
Alternatively, and for greater numbers, one may say for 1/2 "one over two", for 5/8 "five over eight", and so on.
Numbers with a decimal point may be read as a cardinal number, then "and", then another cardinal number followed by an indication of the significance of the second cardinal number, or as a cardinal number, followed by "point", and then by the digits of the fractional part. The indication of significance takes the form of the denominator of the fraction indicating division by the smallest power of ten larger than the second cardinal. This is modified when the first cardinal is zero, in which case neither the zero nor the "and" is pronounced.
- For example:
- 0.002 is "two thousandths" or "point zero zero two"
- 3.1416 is "three and one thousand four hundred sixteen ten-thousandths" or "three point one four one six"
- 99.3 is "ninety-nine and three tenths" or "ninetynine point three".
In English the decimal point was originally printed in the center of the line (0·002), but with the advent of the typewriter it was placed at the bottom of the line, so that a single key could be used as a full stop/period and as a decimal point. In many non-English languages a full-stop/period at the bottom of the line is used as a thousands separator.
- Fractions together with an integer are read as follows:
- 1 1/2 is "one and a half"
- 6 1/4 is read as "six and a quarter"
- 7 5/8 is "seven and five eighths"
A space is required between the whole number and the fraction, however, if a special fraction character is used like "½", then the space can be done without, e.g.
- 9 1/2
- 9½
See also English-language numerals.
Whether to use digits or words
According to most copy editors and English teachers, the numbers zero through nine should be "written out" – meaning instead of "1" and "2", one would write "one" and "two".
- Example: "I have two apples." (Preferred)
- Example: "I have 2 apples."
After "nine", one can head straight back into the 10, 11, 12, etc., although some write out the numbers until "twelve".
- Example: "I have 28 grapes." (Preferred)
- Example: "I have twenty-eight grapes."
Another common usage is to write out any number that can be expressed as one or two words, and use figures otherwise.
- Examples:
- "There are six million dogs." (Preferred)
- "There are 6,000,000 dogs."
- "That is one hundred twenty-five oranges."
- "That is 125 oranges." (Preferred)
Numbers at the beginning of a sentence should also be written out.
The above rules are not always used. In literature, larger numbers might be spelled out. On the other hand, digits might be more commonly used in technical or financial articles, where many figures are discussed. In particular, the two different forms should not be used for figures that serve the same purpose; for example, it is inelegant to write, "Between day twelve and day 15 of the study, the population doubled."
Empty numbers
Colloquial English has a small vocabulary of empty numbers that can be employed when there is uncertainty as to the precise number to use, but it is desirable to define a general range: specifically, the terms "umpteen", "umpty", and "zillion". These are derived etymologically from the range affixes:
- "-teen" (designating the range as being between 10 and 20)
- "-ty" (designating the range as being in one of the decades between 20 and 100)
- "-illion" (designating the range as being above 1,000,000; or, more generally, as being extremely large).
The prefix "ump-" is added to the first two suffixes to produce the empty numbers "umpteen" and "umpty": it is of uncertain origin. There is a noticeable absence of an empty number in the hundreds range.
Usage of empty numbers:
- The word "umpteen" may be used as an adjective, as in "I had to go to umpteen stores to find shoes that fitted". It can also be used to modify a larger number, usually "million", as in "Umpteen million people watched the show; but they still cancelled it."
- "Umpty" is not in common usage. It can appear in the form "umpty-one" (parallelling the usage in such numbers as "twenty-one"), as in "There are umpty-one ways to do it wrong".
- The word "zillion" may be used as an adjective, modifying a noun. The noun phrase normally contains the indefinite article a, as in "There must be a zillion sites on the World Wide Web".
- The plural "zillions" designates a number indefinitely larger than "millions" or "billions". In this case, the construction is parallel to the one for "millions" or "billions", with the number used as a plural count noun, followed by a prepositional phrase with "of", as in "Out in the countryside, the night sky is filled with zillions of stars."
- Empty numbers are sometimes made up, with obvious meaning: "squillions" is obviously an empty, but very large, number; a "squintillionth" would be a very small number.
- Empty numbers are not modified by actual numbers: in other words, it would not be acceptable to say something like "four zillion" except in jest.
- Empty numbers are colloquial, and primarily used in oral speech or informal contexts. They are inappropriate in formal or scholarly usage.
See also Placeholder name.
Usage notes
While there are a number of "rules" about ways of expressing numbers, the essential requirement must always be to avoid ambiguity. Different authorities don't always agree; for example the following sentence was found in a perfectly respectable document. "It has sold 10,000,000 copies. It was number 21 on a recent list of the 100 most important non-fiction books of the 20th century." This sentence is perfectly clear, and it is unlikely that any reader would change his attitude toward the author because of these "errors".
With the rise of computers, use of the name of the letter "O" to signify both the letter "O" and numeric zero has become ambiguous. If numbers are typed into the computer as spoken, problems may arise if the numbers are used for anything other than simple display. If a house number is shown on screen as "12O" instead of "120", no harm is done. But if this error is made in a telephone number to be dialed, or in calculations, problems will arise. The simplest solution is always to say "zero" or "nought".
Numeric dates, as normally abbreviated, are ambiguous: the forms "mm/dd/yy", "dd/mm/yy" where "yy" may be a 2- or 4-digit year, are used in different places; in the US, the former is used, and is reflected in the spoken convention for dates there, for example "October Fourth, Two Thousand Five", whereas in Britain, the latter naming convention is used, and would be spoken as "(The) Fourth of October, Two Thousand and Five". The international standard, with the form yyyy-mm-dd avoids ambiguity and 2005-07-09 means the 9th of July 2005.
See also
External links
- English Numbers - explanations, exercises and number generator (cardinal and ordinal numbers)